MORROW COUNTY — Many bsinesses and residences remain without power today in Morrow County and some in Crawford County after Tuesday’s 8 p.m. peak, when nearly 250,000 customers across the state were without power, including 170,000 in central Ohio. Ohio Edison customers, many locally, were also affected.
As of 3:30 p.m. today (Wednesday) 63.22% of Ohio Edison’s Morrow County customers, 3,592, were without power. Neighboring Crawford County had 395 customers still without power, Marion County had 1,342 without power, and nearby Richland County had 25.46%, or 10,927, Ohio Edison customers without power.
Monday’s severe storms brought lightning and winds in excess of 75 miles per hour which brought down more than 200 poles and 1,600 spans of wire across AEP’s service territory, and Ohio Edison reported there were more than 150 broken poles, 250 spans of downed wires and 129 road closures.
The National Weather Service Cleveland classified the storms as a derecho which produced a large swath of significant wind damage along its path. Storm surveyors reported an EF-1 tornado touched down in Richland County Monday night near Butler, southeast of Mansfield. The Sentinel has not yet received confirmation from the National Weather Service of one also in Morrow County, but it would not be surprising given the extensive damage; and we are still investigating.
Cooling/Relief Stations are available to Morrow County residents.
Morrow County Emergency Management, with help from the Morrow County Chamber of Commerce, are offering the following cooling stations:
- Congress Township Hall, 6284 CR 20, today and tomorrow (June 16) from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- American Legion Post 710, 1549 CR 26, Marengo, today and tomorrow from 6 a.m. to midnight both days.
At the Congress Township Hall, Chamber Director Angela Powell was coordinating volunteers for people escaping the heat. Few people availed themselves of the opportunity and Powell speculated it was difficult for people in town to get out to hall, located off St. Rt. 42N. She hopes a Cooling Station will come available in Mount Gilead.
At the Legion post in Marengo, Patty Callahan spent Tuesday evening and hours today keeping the door open for anyone needing relief. She said the post has four bathrooms. Tuesday evening EMTs even spent the night.
Last night, a woman brought the ingredients for her family’s dinner to the Legion post, prepared the food and then returned home to feed her family. An elderly man came to the post in order to take his oxygen treatments. Callahan said she was very concerned about him. Other visitors brought their computers in order to work remotely.
She was also grateful to OH Pizza & Prime, Marengo; the owner donated pizzas last night.
The Johnsville Fire Department is also offering relief from the power outage and the excessive heat.
- Their Facebook post reads: The fire station will have free food starting at 6 p.m. tonight, Wednesday, for anyone interested. Also if you need to get in out of the heat, need water, or wish to take showers or charge cell phones you are welcome to hang out. Please bring your own containers for take home water. We will also provide bulk water hauling for livestock if needed. Any questions comment on this page or call Chief Barrick 567-333-1331
Ohio Edison updates the outages every 15 minutes. Some customers received notifications their power would be restored before 11:30 p.m. Thursday.
Electric adivsory: When operating a generator, always disconnect the power coming into your home. Otherwise, power from your generator could be sent back onto the utility lines, creating a hazardous situation for utility workers. The proper generator should be selected and installed by a qualified electrician.
